Chapter Summaries

After discovering that the Orochimaru trapped in the Time House was only an empty shell, Liumu reorganized Root and sent teams to investigate the Land of Crafts’ Ninja Tools. As Kushina’s due date approached, Liumu prepared for the coming Nine-Tails incident, which he believed was imminent.

• Liumu realized Orochimaru had escaped by leaving an empty shell behind and told Minato that Orochimaru’s white snakes might have been his true body.
• Liumu took command of Root, reorganized its members into eight teams, and sent two teams to the Land of Crafts to follow Jiraiya’s instructions.
• Han showed Liumu baby clothes for Kushina and told him Naruto was due in less than two months.
• Jiraiya reported that the Land of Crafts’ chakra-absorbing Ninja Tools relied on rare materials and could not be mass-produced.
• Minato left to be with Kushina, who was due to give birth within days, while Liumu looked over Konoha and said the moment had finally come.

Liumu received warning of a coming disaster and investigated a dazed man outside Konoha, who revealed himself as the Three-Tails. Liumu absorbed the beast’s Tailed Beast Bomb, but the man’s body began transforming into a strange skeletal cloak.

• Liumu warned Fugaku that Konoha might face a disaster soon and asked him to protect the Uchiha Clan’s territory.
• Liumu learned Kushina was expected to give birth within a day or two, while Han prepared to stay with her.
• A Root report alerted Liumu to a dazed man wearing a Konoha forehead protector outside the village, and Liumu recognized the red chakra as belonging to a jinchūriki.
• Liumu sent Root members back to protect Konoha Hospital, then attacked the man and exposed the Three-Tails within him.
• Liumu absorbed the Three-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb, as the man’s flesh split and an enormous white skeletal cloak emerged.

A masked man released the Nine-Tails in Konoha and revealed a Mangekyō Sharingan, while Liumu fought the Three-Tails outside the village. As Konoha’s defenders battled the beasts, Minato summoned the Reaper and entrusted Naruto and the village to Liumu.

• Liumu realized the Three-Tails Jinchūriki had been bait and attacked the beast after seeing a Mangekyō Sharingan in its eyes.
• The Masked Man extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina at Konoha Hospital, and Han rescued Kushina and Naruto as the beast began rampaging.
• Minato moved Kushina, Han, and Naruto to safety, then joined Konoha’s fighters against the Nine-Tails.
• Liumu arrived with the Three-Tails, knocked the Nine-Tails and its forming Tailed Beast Bomb down, and Minato ordered the Three-Tails sealed first.
• Minato summoned the Reaper and asked Liumu to protect Konoha and take care of Naruto if he could.

Liumu stopped Minato’s Reaper Death Seal, knocked the controlled Nine-Tails unconscious, and fought the mysterious Masked Man, whose space-time ability resembled Kamui. After the Masked Man escaped, Minato realized Kushina was dying from the extraction of the Nine-Tails, and Liumu gave him a piece of Heluo’s body to save her.

• Liumu used Taotie's Gluttony to absorb Minato’s chakra and cancel the Reaper Death Seal, then told the Third Hokage to take Minato away.
• Liumu punched the Nine-Tails into a crater and knocked it unconscious, freeing Konoha from its attack.
• Liumu fought the Masked Man, who phased through attacks and controlled iron objects, while Minato explained their abilities to the Third Hokage.
• Liumu tried to drain the Masked Man’s chakra, but his hand passed through the man, who escaped through a space-time distortion.
• Minato discovered Kushina was dying after the Nine-Tails was extracted, and Liumu gave him a piece of Heluo’s body and urged him to have her eat it.

Minato and Kushina divided the Nine-Tails’ chakra between Minato and newborn Naruto, ending the attack on Konoha. More than half a year later, Liumu managed Root and the ANBU, arranged for Itachi to report to him after graduating, and received intelligence from the Land of Rain.

• Liumu proposed dividing the Nine-Tails’ chakra between two Jinchūriki, and Minato volunteered alongside newborn Naruto.
• Kushina used her chakra chains to split the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and Minato sealed the portions inside himself and Naruto.
• Izumi treated Itachi to dumplings, and Liumu told Fugaku to have Shisui teach Itachi until he graduated from the Ninja Academy.
• Liumu approved a new recruit with Transparent Release for the Combat Team and continued directing Root and the ANBU.
• Kakashi delivered the Fourth Hokage’s intelligence from the Land of Rain to Liumu before leaving to meet Guy.

Han considered accepting the Fourth Hokage’s offer to work at the Ninja Academy, while Liumu grew suspicious that the Masked Man’s plans might involve Akatsuki. After returning to Konoha, Liumu reunited with Jiraiya, who began to explain why it was fortunate Liumu had stayed away from the Land of Crafts on the night of the Nine-Tails attack.

• Han told Liumu that the Fourth Hokage had offered her a position at the Ninja Academy, and Liumu supported her making her own decision.
• Liumu questioned the Template System about its lack of missions, then suspected Madara’s plans might bring the new Masked Man to Nagato and left for the Land of Rain.
• Yahiko allowed Tobi to stay with Akatsuki as an unofficial member and assigned him to go with Sasori.
• Liumu visited Akatsuki Headquarters, but Yahiko did not tell him about Tobi, and Liumu found nothing unusual in Yahiko before leaving.
• Half a month later, Liumu returned to Konoha and met Jiraiya, who said it was fortunate Liumu had not gone to the Land of Crafts on the night of the Nine-Tails attack.

Jiraiya reported on the Land of Crafts and its meteor-made ninja tools before leaving Konoha, while Liumu discussed the Masked Man with Fugaku at the Uchiha compound. After offering to arrange Itachi’s early graduation, Liumu astonished Shisui, Itachi, and Fugaku by launching a pebble with devastating force.

• Jiraiya told Minato that the Masked Man had the Mangekyō Sharingan and gave him a scroll describing the Land of Crafts’ ninja-tool techniques.
• Jiraiya left Konoha, and Liumu went to visit the Uchiha compound.
• Fugaku told Liumu that the Masked Man was not a member of his clan, though he might have Uchiha blood from outside it.
• Liumu watched Shisui and Itachi train and offered to arrange Itachi’s early graduation so he could join the ANBU.
• At Shisui and Itachi’s request, Liumu threw a pebble that shattered trees and blasted a crater into the ground, then claimed his hand had slipped.

Liumu brought Itachi to a training ground to assess him for early graduation, testing his ability to attack and think ahead. After Itachi’s clever tactics prompted Liumu to use Water Release to counter his fire, Liumu passed him in the first round and began the question-and-answer portion.

• Liumu reviewed Itachi’s excellent academy records and took him to Konoha’s Training Ground for his early graduation assessment.
• Liumu told Itachi he had to touch him to pass the attack test, and Itachi used wired kunai and a clone to surprise him.
• Liumu advised Itachi to anticipate what would happen after an opponent evaded his attacks, and Itachi awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan.
• Itachi used a Great Fireball Technique to restrict Liumu’s escape routes and prepared a second attack, but Liumu extinguished the flames with Water Formation Wall.
• Liumu passed Itachi in the first round and started the second part of the assessment, a question-and-answer session.

Liumu tested Itachi with questions about loyalty, sacrifice, and judgment, then used a trick question to introduce the idea of visual deception. Fugaku interpreted the lesson as a warning about the Uchiha Clan’s reliance on the Sharingan and isolation from Konoha, and told Itachi to notify his friends before reporting to ANBU the next day.

• Liumu asked Itachi whether he would choose the village or his family, and Itachi said he would side with justice, peace, and what the majority wanted.
• Itachi said he would send the weakest teammate back with mission intelligence while the stronger teammates held off the enemy, but he would not abandon his team if he were the weakest.
• Liumu advised Itachi that acting recklessly was unwise and that a person should wait until strong enough to seek revenge.
• Liumu confused Itachi with a finger-counting trick, and later Fugaku identified the lesson as visual deception and warned that the Uchiha relied too much on their eyes.
• Fugaku concluded that Liumu was warning him about the Uchiha Clan’s isolation, then told Itachi to inform his friends before reporting to ANBU the next day.

Minato urged Liumu to marry Han, and Liumu decided to take her on a journey instead of proposing at home. After visiting friends and traveling through several countries, Liumu revealed that he was taking Han back to the Land of Water.

• Minato pressed Liumu about marrying Han, and Liumu admitted he was hesitant despite caring deeply for her.
• Liumu asked Han when her school would have a long break and told her he wanted to take her somewhere.
• Half a month later, Liumu and Han left Konoha and traveled together, with Liumu catching and grilling fish for her along the way.
• Liumu and Han visited Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in the Land of Rain, then traveled to the Land of Grass and continued toward the Land of Lightning.
• After boarding a southbound ship, Liumu embraced Han and revealed that he was taking her to the Land of Water for a visit.

Liumu brought Han to the Land of Water and her ancestral homeland, then proposed to her before the iceberg where he said her clanspeople rested. Han accepted, and the two became engaged.

• Liumu and Han visited Kirigakure, but Han declined to enter because the village stirred painful memories.
• Liumu took Han to a northern ice field and showed her the iceberg she recognized as her homeland.
• That night, Liumu told Han that her clanspeople, including her parents and elders, were in the iceberg, then explained how he had fallen in love with her.
• Liumu proposed to Han with a black meteorite ring, and Han accepted while saying she wanted twins.
• Liumu slipped the ring onto Han's finger and embraced her.

As Liumu and Han traveled through a snowy mountain valley, Konoha residents prepared wedding gifts for them. Fugaku organized the construction of a house near Liumu’s home and learned that Tenzo had been renamed Yamato after transferring to the ANBU; the chapter ended with Liumu embracing Han on the mountaintop.

• Tenzo showed his Wood Release ability at a gift shop while discussing wedding gifts with other masked ninja.
• Kushina and Minato talked about Liumu and Han’s upcoming wedding while caring for Naruto.
• Shisui showed Itachi a thorny flowering plant he had found as a possible wedding gift, and Itachi whispered what Fugaku was planning.
• Fugaku gathered Uchiha clan members to prepare a vacant plot near Liumu’s home for a house built with Tenzo’s Wood Release.
• Tenzo arrived and told Fugaku that his name was now Yamato because Liumu had transferred him from Root to the ANBU under Kakashi.
• Liumu embraced Han in a snowy mountain valley, told her it felt like a dream, and looked toward the world below.

After choosing to travel instead of holding a wedding, Liumu and Han returned to Konoha three years later, with Han pregnant. They reunited with Shisui, Minato, Kushina, and young Naruto, while the masked figures approaching the village fled.

• Liumu asked Han to postpone their wedding and travel with him, and she agreed; they planned to hold a ceremony after returning to Konoha.
• Three years later, Shisui spotted Liumu and Han approaching Konoha, while the concealed figures in the nearby forest fled.
• Han dispersed the lingering mist she had used to scout the forest, and Liumu, Han, and Shisui entered the village together.
• Liumu reunited with Minato, Kushina, and Naruto, teasing Naruto to call him big brother.
• Shisui explained that he had kept Liumu's house clean during his absence, and Kushina urged the pregnant Han to take special care.

Liumu caught up with Kakashi and Guy, discussed Root and an investigation in the Land of Rain, then teased them about finding girlfriends and offered to play matchmaker. At Ichiraku Ramen Shop, they ran into Obito on a date with Rin.

• Liumu asked Kakashi about the ANBU and Root, and Kakashi said the plan to disband Root was progressing while they waited for an opportunity.
• Kakashi told Liumu that a squad had gone to the Land of Rain to investigate a man but found he had already disappeared.
• Liumu asked Kakashi and Guy whether they would lead squads, and Guy said he would only teach three bright, youthful kids.
• Liumu teased Kakashi and Guy about their lack of girlfriends and promised to find someone to arrange matches for them.
• Liumu, Kakashi, and Guy went to Ichiraku Ramen Shop and found Obito on a date with Rin; Obito said he had stopped wearing his goggles.

After returning to Konoha, Liumu reunited with old friends and visited Fugaku’s family, where Itachi discreetly revealed that a Masked Man had shown him the Uchiha Clan’s stone tablet. Liumu learned that the clan’s growing unrest implicated Itachi and Shisui, and he decided to handle the crisis himself while asking what they would choose if conflict became unavoidable.

• Liumu met Rin and Obito, learned Obito led the police force’s first squad, and agreed to visit Fugaku with him.
• At Fugaku’s house, Liumu met Sasuke and heard Fugaku complain that the boy clung to Itachi instead of him.
• That night, Itachi and Shisui told Liumu that the Masked Man had taken Itachi to the Uchiha Clan’s stone tablet months earlier.
• Itachi explained that the Uchiha Clan was growing discontented and viewed him and Shisui as traitors for serving in the ANBU.
• Shisui said they had told Liumu because they trusted him and most Uchiha wanted peace, so Liumu told them not to inform the Fourth Hokage and asked what they would choose if conflict became unavoidable.

Liumu confronted the Uchiha Clan over rumors of rebellion and used two Genjutsu to show them the devastation and deaths a revolt could bring. He then demonstrated his power by flattening half the mountain Fugaku had chosen for a training ground.

• Liumu told Fugaku and the assembled Uchiha clan members that he had heard rumors they were planning a rebellion.
• Liumu trapped everyone, including Fugaku, in a Genjutsu depicting Konoha destroyed by the Uchiha, Itachi, and Shisui.
• Liumu subjected them to a second Genjutsu in which Konoha's forces overwhelmed and killed the Uchiha before the clan could learn whether it would win.
• Liumu warned that he would act if he confirmed the rebellion plans, then asked Fugaku about the clan's proposed training ground.
• After Fugaku identified the mountain behind the clan, Liumu punched through the office window and reduced the peak to half its former height.

Liumu warned Fugaku that the Uchiha did not need to abandon their clan identity and revealed that the Stone Tablet had been altered, with Infinite Tsukuyomi leading to disaster. Later, as Liumu waited with Han for Jiraiya to return before their baby was born, Gaara was left wondering why his father disliked him.

• Liumu sent two figures to inform the Fourth Hokage about what had happened at the Uchiha Clan grounds.
• Liumu told Fugaku he opposed integrating the Uchiha into the village and warned him that the Stone Tablet had been tampered with and Infinite Tsukuyomi would bring disaster.
• Liumu shared breakfast with Fugaku, then left him with more questions about Liumu's knowledge and motives.
• Liumu read Jiraiya's book to Han as they watched snow fall, and he promised Jiraiya would return before the baby was born.
• Gaara used sand to make food for two children, but his father sent them away, leaving Gaara to ask a blond man why his father did not like him.

After a boy’s transformation drew dark figures to his window, a stream of sand killed them. In Konoha, Liumu rescued Hinata from Kumogakure kidnappers and headed for the peace talks venue to confront them, while Naruto accompanied Hinata and Hyuga Hiashi back to the village.

• A boy changed as savage roars filled his room, and sand wrapped around the figures gathered outside his window and killed them.
• Minato received news that Kumogakure had signed a ceasefire agreement, but an explosion in Konoha interrupted him.
• Liumu pursued the men who had abducted Hinata, killed one, and captured the other intruders as Hyuga Hiashi rescued her.
• Liumu identified the abductors as likely Kumogakure ninja, refused to let Hiashi take the blame, and decided to confront them at the peace talks venue.
• Liumu sent Hiashi back with Hinata and Naruto, and Naruto introduced himself to Hinata as they walked toward the village.

Liumu confronted Kumogakure’s delegation with the bodies of the spies who had abducted Hinata and warned them against further schemes. After returning to Konoha, he visited Han in the hospital and settled in beside her as she neared childbirth.

• Liumu arrived at the peace talks, presented five corpses to Kumogakure’s delegation, and threatened to visit their village if they continued plotting against Konoha.
• Liumu ordered the delegation to relay his warning to A, and the Kumogakure ninja took the corpses’ ashes back to their village.
• On the journey home, Shikaku explained that Kumogakure had delayed signing the ceasefire while a squad tried to abduct Hinata and steal her Byakugan.
• Liumu returned to Konoha, visited Han in the hospital, and set up a bed beside hers so he could stay with her.

As Han's delivery approached, an unexplained white mist and ice spread from her despite her not using chakra, and the medical ninjas could not determine the cause. When Liumu's Taotie's Gluttony activated outside the delivery room, time appeared to stop, and he saw a flame-wreathed infant in Suiguang's arms.

• Liumu told Han a joke about a little girl selling nuclear bombs, then recounted a simplified version of Life of Pi.
• Han felt the baby kick, and white mist and ice began spreading from beneath her without her channeling chakra.
• Rin and the other medical ninjas examined Han but could not explain the mist, and Suiguang arranged to consult Lady Tsunade.
• As Han's contractions intensified, Liumu waited outside the delivery room while Minato told him their teacher and the others were on their way.
• Liumu's Taotie's Gluttony activated, freezing everything around him; he entered Han's room and saw Suiguang holding an infant wreathed in flames.